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Previewing the East: Washington

by
Bill Roose
/ Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT – Ready for some hockey?

Sure you are.

The Red Wings don’t open training camp until Sept. 19 in Traverse City, but over the next eight weeks DetroitRedWings.com's Bill Roose will preview the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, including the Red Wings’ Atlantic Division rivals in Boston, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Florida and Buffalo. This week it's the Washington Capitals:

PLAYER TO WATCH: By not spending even more money in free agency to acquire a veteran backup like Martin Brodeur or Tomas Vokoun, the Capitals basically have told Braden Holtby that he is their man this season. Instead, the Caps went out and signed Justin Peters (two years, $1.9 million) to be more of a traditional backup that will allow Holtby to start about 80 percent of the games. The signing is a good indicator for Holtby who doesn’t have to worry about an older, more experienced backup taking his No. 1 job during the season. Still, it’s a big year for Holtby, who enters the final year of a two-year contract after posting a 23-15-4 record with a 2.85 goals-against average and a career-low .915 save percentage.

SEASON SCOPE: The Capitals spent more money than any other NHL team in free agency this summer – an estimated $70 million – while getting tougher on the blue line with the acquisitions of two guys, Matt Niskanen (seven years, $40.25 million) and Brooks Orpik (five years, $27.5 million), who were defensive stalwarts during their time in Pittsburgh. By adding the pair, the Capitals believe they’ve addressed a major concern, bringing in veteran leadership to a unit that used an NHL-high 14 different defensemen last season.

Niskanen led all NHL defensemen with a plus-33 rating last season, and, under new coach Barry Trotz, he’ll be counted on to run the Caps’ power play with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, who finished 1-2 in the league in power-play points with 44 and 39, respectively.